Fredericton residents on the north side may have a downtown-like hub in the future since Fredericton’s City Development committee was presented with the Main Street Urban Design plan this week.
Trina MacDonald, general manager of Business Fredericton North, has been part of the consultation process that began in 2013. She said Main Street has been expanding but has lacked a clear vision or plan during the expansion.
“Main Street, Fredericton, really developed piecemeal, I would say for lack of a better word,” said MacDonald. “We have big box, strip malls, converted homes. We have a little bit of everything.”
While there were secondary plans within the city for the area, it never had a specific or cohesive urban design plan dedicated to its growth. The city partnered with Business Fredericton North to ensure the area did not become a jumble of businesses and infrastructure and to create a clear plan for the future.
“When you close your eyes and you think of a main street anywhere in the world, in Canada, in North America, you probably have a vision of what a main street should look like,” said MacDonald. “When we look at what we have, we want to move from what we have to that vision that we can be proud of.”
There are many aspects to the plan and it was developed through a series of consultation processes with the public and stakeholders in the area. The plan estimates costs would run between $25 million to $35 million and suggests the city and Business Fredericton North seek out grants and funding partners to complete the project.
“The major development within the plan will come from the development community,” said MacDonald. “Their personal investment – that’s private investment. Not public investment.”
The vision they have includes moving businesses up to the street and creating a more friendly area for pedestrian traffic, similar to the downtown area. It would also work to enhance the recreational opportunities and trail connections.
“It would be more inviting for people to purchase, for retailers to set up, for people to live on Main Street and for people to come and play on Main Street… It’s very cohesive,” said MacDonald.
Katherine Morehouse, a long time north-side resident and St. Thomas student, said the thought of bringing more businesses to area excites her. She said since the Brookside Mall lost their food court, a lot of retailers have disappeared from that side of the city.
With 52 per cent of the Fredericton population living across the bridge, a lot of people are forced to commute for recreation, employment and shopping.
“The north side seriously used to be really good with their stores,” said Morehouse. “[Now], it’s basically a dead zone except for a few small businesses.”
She remembers all the stores that have disappeared over the years. She said some held fond memories for her, including a pet store where she got her cat almost 13 years ago. She said now the mall is mainly made up of a grocery store, furniture stores and a call centre. There’s not much in the area for entertainment or part time jobs when it comes to university students.
She hopes if the city can make the area nicer and increase consumer traffic, more businesses will come and liven up the area.
“No stores are buying on the north side because it’s seen as the less flavourable side of Fredericton,” said Morehouse. “But if stores actually take a chance and station themselves on this side then they will bring more people… just saying, we need a Starbucks over here.”
